Bit of Sunshine
by Scarbie
Summary: Brandon finds that rainy days and grocery shopping aren't all that bad. PreMillenion, BrandonxMaria


**Title:** Bit of Sunshine  
**Fandom:** Gungrave  
**Pairings:** Brandon x Maria (Pre-Millenion)  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gungrave or any of its wonderful characters.  
**A/N:** This story is a giftfic for Beckster!

* * *

When it was time to make a grocery run, Kenny was always eager to be the one to go but Jolice would never let the youngest of the group go by himself. 

"You're just going to come back with a bunch of candy and other sweets that I won't be able to make a meal out of, Kenny. That or you'll buy something expensive and we won't be able to make meals that will last throughout the week. Even when I give you a list." The poofy-haired man shook his head and continued to make breakfast.

"Aww, c'mon, man! I lost it." Kenny whined as he snaked his hand to snag one of the sausages on a paper towel covered plate—Jolice didn't like it when the food was too greasy—without much success. Before the boy knew it, the resident gourmet of the gang swatted his hand with a spatula.

"Well, I'll just go with Nathan then," Kenny said somewhat slyly.

Jolice shook his head again. "No. Nice try though. Nathan would help a little but you would still pick up a lot of impractical things."

Kenny frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Since when has a Hershey bar been impractical?"

The cook gave a slight smile. "Let me see… since you bought a king size bar which costs $1.09 when you could have used that money to buy two cans of tomato sauce. Which one do you think would make the better spaghetti sauce?"

"All right. All right," Kenny conceded with a sigh.

"I wish I could go with you but I have that interview this afternoon."

Kenny laughed, "It's hard to believe that one of us is looking for a legit job."

The door to the dilapidated diner opened soundlessly thanks to Jolice applying WD-40 a week earlier.

"What's so damn funny, shorty?" Nathan, a large blonde asked. He and Kenny couldn't have been more different in appearance but the older teen looked after Kenny like a big brother should. He took a seat on the stool next to the boy wearing the blue baseball cap. Brandon took a seat on the bar stool on the other side of Nathan. The brunet was quiet but wore an expression of amusement.

"Oh, just Jolice getting a real job while the rest of us lead crooked lives," he said with a grin.

Nathan playfully smacked Kenny upside the head, almost knocking the boy's baseball cap off. "One of us needs to be respectable and obviously it isn't going to be you."

The larger man smiled at Jolice and said, "Good luck with the interview, man. I'm sure it'll go well. Who wouldn't want you working for them? They'd have to be an idiot or something."

Brandon looked at the cook and nodded his head in agreement. Everyone was really proud of Jolice. They knew that he wasn't cut out for the hustling life but they also knew wherever he went, Jolice wouldn't forget about them. That was just the kind of guy he was.

"Thanks, everyone, that really means a lot to me," the brown-haired man said while removing the hard fried eggs from the skillet. "By the way, where is Harry?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Probably stayed the night at some chick's house."

Kenny started making kissing noises complete with mock amorous expressions.

"Knock it off," Nathan said after swatting Kenny upside the head again.

"Ow!" Kenny yelled. "One of these days you're going to hit me too hard and I'll be a vegetable slobbing all over the place."

"Then quit being stupid!"

Jolice started dishing out the plates and insisted that they should behave themselves better.

The sounds of their playful bickering washed over Brandon and comforted him. This was an everyday thing, those two arguing like that. Sometimes it could get tiring but most of the time it was amusing, especially when Jolice would get worked up.

"Anyway, we still need to pick up the groceries," Jolice reminded Kenny.

"Oh yeah, I'll get them after I finish eating. All you have to do is give me the money," he said around a mouthful of eggs.

Jolice sighed. "We already went over this…"

At the cook's tired tone, Brandon raised his hand in a motion indicating that he would go with Kenny.

"Thank you, Brandon." Jolice thought that Brandon was one of the nicest people he knew but the quiet teen could withstand Kenny's begging.

They finished their modest but delicious breakfast quickly and gave their compliments to the chef.

Jolice gave Brandon some money along with a short list of necessary food and household items. Brandon nodded his head and walked towards the door where Kenny was already waiting for him.

"Please wait a moment!" Jolice called out, "I heard on the radio that it might rain today."

Jolice's cry made Brandon turn back around sharply. He took the beat-up but still functional black umbrella that the other man offered him.

"Thanks, Jolice," he said in his soft voice, touched by his friend's gesture. Brandon's vocalization made Jolice smile as it wasn't often that Brandon spoke.

-------------

Taking in the scenery during the twenty minute walk to the store was always interesting. The store they frequented was located in a fairly decent part of town which was more than Brandon could say about the area where he lived. As they walked through the neighborhoods it wasn't that things gradually got better. They walked block after block where the streets were filled with garbage, houses were in pitiful states, and the alleys had no shortage of broken bottles. There was an invisible line of demarcation, where once you crossed it was either a safer environment where the possibilities seemed endless or a cesspool where trouble lurked around every corner. It all depended on which side you started from.

Brandon looked up at the sky taking in the grey clouds. No matter which side of town he was on the sky was always the same. It definitely looked as if it would rain today. It was only a question of when: now or later. He sighed and picked up the pace, his long legs taking him beyond Kenny.

"Hey, wait up, Brandon!" the boy cried as he ran after his taller friend.

-------------

It was humid outside but once Brandon and Kenny hit the automatic doors of the grocery store they were hit with the chill air. It took a moment to get adjusted. Brandon tilted his head in the direction of the shopping carts and Kenny went to get one. The quiet young man usually gave Kenny the responsibility of pushing the cart while he would it with the things on the list. Whenever the boy would yell 'Ooooh, let's get these!' while holding the latest overpriced sugar laden cereal or snack over his head, Brandon would cross-reference the wanted item with the list he had memorized. If it didn't match—and he knew it wouldn't—he would shake his head. Kenny already knew better than to persist; once Brandon disagreed with something that was all there was to it.

In the canned food section Brandon picked up the kidney beans that Jolice wanted. The generic brand was on sale. He figured with the ground beef, one of the more expensive items on the list that they would be having chili sometime soon. Brandon also picked up a few distinctively shaped cans. He still couldn't get over how many different dishes could be made with SPAM.

At the checkout line Brandon relented a little and let Kenny pick up a pack of gum. Hell it was only thirty cents. He was sure that the younger boy was going to complain that they could've gotten it for free with a five-finger discount but Brandon wasn't interested in getting kicked out of the store if they were caught. The old cashier was giving them harsh enough looks already.

As they pulled the bags out of the shopping cart Kenny looked back and noticed the old woman was still glaring at them.

"Damn, that hag is looking at us like we were gonna steal something!"

Brandon quirked his eyebrow silently saying, "You were."

"All right, so I was. But I don't know if penny-pinching Jolice would be happy knowing that we spent thirty cents when we could have gotten the gum for free."

Brandon could only roll his eyes in response to that. Kenny's logic wouldn't fly with the most honest person in their group.

As Kenny continued to go on about how he would convince Jolice that his way of thinking was correct, Brandon's attention was drawn elsewhere. It wasn't that he was trying to ignore the criminally minded 13 year old, he just couldn't tear his eyes from the blonde walking past the store's front windows and through the entrance.

"Maria," he breathed almost inaudibly.

"Hey are you listening to me?" Kenny waved a hand in front of Brandon's face. When that didn't work he turned in the direction that his friend was staring. He grinned when he saw who captured Brandon's attention. The guy was hopeless. The brunet just continued to stare with his mouth slightly opened.

"Geez, get a grip," Kenny muttered under his breath. He saw that Brandon wasn't going to get her attention so he shamelessly hollered over to her and waved.

Brandon blinked and looked down at Kenny in shock.

"I'm trying to get her attention. You standing there all quiet wasn't going to bring her over."

The older boy could feel his face flush. He hoped that he wouldn't be blushing by the time Maria walked over to them. She looked lovely today but then she always did. He swallowed gathering up his courage. Kenny slapped him on the back.

She was twenty feet away from them and Brandon could see that the pale green shirt she wore matched her eyes almost perfectly. She was wearing khaki slacks with a brown belt. Even wearing casual clothes she always looked so polished. So refined and beautiful.

Now she was standing right in front of him.

"Hi, Kenny! Hi, Brandon!" she said cheerfully, focusing her attention on each of them as she said their names. When she met Brandon's eyes he felt even more speechless than usual which was saying something.

"Hey, Maria! It's good seeing you!" Kenny said before stepping on Brandon's foot to jar him into some action.

"Hi," Brandon said shyly looking at her from under dark bangs. His shyness made Maria smile at him. She knew first hand how well Brandon could handle himself but she found that quality of his so endearing and adorable.

"Do you have a lot of shopping to do?" Kenny asked the young woman. "Is your Uncle coming to pick you up?"

"No, I don't have that much to pick up and I just walked here. Uncle is at work."

"On a Saturday?"

Maria sighed. "One of his coworker's kids got sick and had to go to the doctor so he's filling in for them."

"That was nice of him," Brandon said quietly. Maria started a bit not expecting him to say anything. Her uncle was one of the few adults that he actually respected.

"Oh, it's a shame I didn't get here earlier because we could have done our shopping together," she said while frowning.

Kenny stepped in. "Don't worry about it. Brandon can help you shop and I'll carry these bags home."

Brandon looked at him wondering if the boy was sure about it.

"Yeah, it's fine," Kenny said grabbing the bag out of Brandon's hand. "I can manage."

Brandon quickly helped Kenny consolidate the items so there would only be three bags instead of four. He also handed the boy the black umbrella that Jolice loaned him.

"You're going to be all right?" Brandon asked. Kenny was smaller than him and he didn't want the boy to be overwhelmed by all the bags. It wasn't raining right now but if it started later holding the umbrella would be cumbersome.

"Yes! Now just go help Maria. Man, you give me a headache," he said while shaking his head.

Brandon watched Kenny walk out the door and then pushed the now empty shopping cart over to Maria.

"Thanks, Brandon," she said, briefly touching one of his hands that rested on the handgrip. She hooked her blue and white umbrella on the far end of the handle bar. "Since you're here with me I'll be able to get more stuff and it'll save me another trip."

He gave her a small smile.

"Now which aisle should we tackle first?" she asked with a grin.

-------------

The grocery store never rated as one of Brandon's favorite places. He appreciated that the food that he ate came from there but it wasn't someplace he just felt he had to be. But being here with Maria changed his feelings. It was fun listening to her hum as she chose produce and he almost had to laugh out loud at the way she scrunched her nose when she went pass things like brussels sprouts that she didn't find appetizing. He spent that half hour pushing the cart but more than that just watching her and enjoying her company.

When it came time to check out the old lady's line was the shortest. Brandon thought that it was entirely possible that the woman's glares made people want to hurry and get out of the store. She took a look at Brandon and he could almost hear her thoughts of "You again?" Her sour expression quickly faded when Maria said good afternoon to her. The lady immediately gave her a friendly smile and said, "Hello, dearie." Brandon was taken aback by the sudden transformation of the woman from witch to kind grandmother. Yet he wasn't surprise that Maria could inspire that change.

Brandon noticed that it was getting darker outside. He hoped that he would be able get Maria back home before it started raining.

He felt the first drop of rain when he pushed the cart into the corral. When he didn't feel much more he thought that it was a stray drop.

While walking Maria back home when he wasn't watching the way she moved out the corner of his eye he was looking at their surroundings. It was completely different. There was no garbage on the streets and the houses and apartment complexes had well kept lawns. It still wasn't the 'burbs but Brandon knew that it was safer than what he was used to. This was the world that Maria lived in and if he could help it he didn't want her to know the pain that came with living in the same neighborhood as thieves, rapist, and murderers. She had already had enough unfortunate brushes with that element. Some desperate junkie murdered her poor parents when she was just a baby. Then there was the incident that lead to her meeting Brandon in the first place.

Thank goodness, he and Harry were there to stop those creeps that didn't know how to take no for an answer. It was true that Harry halfheartedly discouraged Brandon from interfering but he knew what his stubborn friend was going to do from the beginning. And now here they were walking together three months later. There were few times he found silver linings to the dark clouds in his life and rarely did those bright spots take form as people. He looked over at her and she turned and smiled at him. She was only carrying two light bags while Brandon hauled the majority. He immediately returned her smile. Only Harry and Maria could get those smiles to come so easily from him.

They were halfway to her home when they started to feel more raindrops. At first they thought it would be a light drizzle but it became more intense.

"Oh no! I guess we should be happy we got this far before it started," Maria said, fumbling with her umbrella to get it opened. "Good thing we got plastic bags instead of paper."

She finally got the umbrella opened and what Brandon previously thought was a simple blue and white pattern was really an image of the sky with fluffy cumulus clouds. The style of the umbrella fit Maria's personality perfectly. She was refreshing like crisp air and walking beneath a bright sky. With her blonde hair it was like seeing the sun come out from between the clouds. The smile she gave him was slow, sweet, and radiant. He didn't even notice how soaked he was but he did notice that Maria was moving closer to him.

She raised the umbrella higher so he would be able to fit under it. It wasn't a small umbrella but it wasn't a large golf umbrella so she would have to move closer to make sure he didn't get rained on even more. Maria wrapped her left arm that held the bags around Brandon's waist and gasped softly when the dampness from his drenched vest seeped into one of the few dry spots on her T-shirt.

Brandon gasped for an entirely different reason. He had always wanted to reach out and hold Maria. Her initiating the contact sent his mind racing. She was so warm and soft and felt good against him. He wondered if he felt as good to her. When he looked down her green eyes were on him.

"This is better, right?" She squeezed his waist.

He had to clear his throat a bit before he could respond with a simple but honest, "Yeah."

Did she even know the effect that she had on him? As he looked into her eyes he didn't see any guile or sauciness that he often saw in the women that Harry dated.

The apartment complex that Maria lived in came into view all too soon. She put down the bag of groceries on the welcome mat and closed her umbrella. She still had her arm around Brandon's waist as she dug in her pockets with her free hand for the apartment keys. When she had the door opened she picked up the umbrella and grocery bag then lead the way into the kitchen.

"Gosh, look at you!" the young woman exclaimed, "You're soaked through and through!" She shook her head. "Let me get a towel for you."

Brandon remained standing near the kitchen sink as he watched her walk out the room. She returned quickly with a blue towel.

Maria felt so badly about him getting wet while helping her. Without even thinking about it she leaned against him and started rubbing the towel across his wet hair. He wrapped a hand around one of her small wrists, stilling her movement.

"Thanks," he said as he removed the towel from her hands and finished where she left off. He couldn't trust what he would do with her that close. The emotions he felt when he was around her were so foreign.

Maria went to one of the cabinets and pulled out a teakettle. "I can get some tea started while I put away the groceries."

"You don't have to that for me. I'm fine."

Maria gave him a slow but somehow sad smile. "Brandon, I insist. I don't want you getting sick. Not when you were just trying to help me, okay?"

The hints of pleading in her voice made him give her his assent.

She gave him a happier smile this time around. He would've agreed to damn near anything to see that.

What would you like, sugar or honey?" she asked holding one in the left hand and the other in the right.

-------------

He was glad he agreed to stay for the tea not only because it allowed him to spend more time with Maria but because she also made a blackberry pie two days earlier. She was a wonderful baker. Maria became 'cool people' with the guys when she brought a pie to the hangout as a gesture to show her appreciation for Brandon saving her honor.

He thought about what her Uncle would think or do if he saw him in the apartment. He shouldn't make himself too comfortable. He really should be leaving soon. Jester didn't care for him all that much.

When he finished eating he quietly insisted that he help her wash the dishes. Maria didn't know how Brandon did it but whenever he had a point to get across it didn't matter if he said anything or not.

After he dried the last plate he turned to Maria. "I…I have to head back but I wanted you to know that I enjoyed being with you."

"Thank you Brandon for all your help today. I had a lot of fun with you too. We should do this more often."

He smiled wryly at her.

She hit him lightly on the shoulder. "Well not the getting rained on part but everything else."

"Yeah." He walked towards the front door and could hear that it was still raining outside. It was strange how awful it could be outside but at this moment it did not dampen his mood.

Maria grabbed her umbrella from the corner where she placed it when they first entered the apartment. "Take this with you, Brandon."

He shook his head.

"No, really it's okay. I'll stop by and get it later this week or you can drop it off."

He didn't mind the rain that much but he wasn't going to pass up a reason to see her again.

"Thanks." He was reaching for the doorknob when Maria grabbed his hand and wrapped him in a warm embrace. She then stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss not on the cheek but on the corner of his mouth.

"Be careful on your way back, all right?"

He nodded and walked out the door in a slight daze. Maria had given him a hug and half kiss. He couldn't stop the wide grin from forming. He hadn't felt this happy in a very long time. After getting pelted with the rain for ten seconds he remembered to open the umbrella. He had his bit of sunshine to last him if the whole week was damp and muggy.

-------------

When Brandon got back to the hangout Harry, Kenny, and Nathan were there. He put the umbrella in the corner next to their beat-up coat rack. He still felt giddy from all that happened.

"You look happy today, Brandon. I heard that you were out with Maria."

For the second time that day, Kenny started making kissing noises and for the umpteenth time he got bopped in the head by Nathan. Harry added a soft whap against the back of the boy's head for good measure.

Brandon blushed slightly at Kenny's assumption. Harry being Brandon's best friend knew that something interesting had happened. With Brandon's slower pace when it came to girls, Harry figured he hadn't gone all the way with Maria but whatever happened, he knew the progress was still ground breaking for his shy friend.

He gave Brandon an understanding smile and his gaze shifted to the blue and white umbrella. "That's a really nice umbrella, Brandon."

His friend turned toward the temporary present Maria gave him. "Yeah, it is." He couldn't wait to see her again to return it to her.

THE END


End file.
